


No Hugs

by ticklishpickle



Category: Phandom/The Fantastic Foursome (YouTube RPF)
Genre: Alternate Universe - High School, Fluff, Friends to Lovers, Getting Together, M/M, Mutual Pining, Pining
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-06
Updated: 2018-01-06
Packaged: 2019-03-01 00:56:58
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,714
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13283523
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/ticklishpickle/pseuds/ticklishpickle
Summary: Dan Howell does not like hugs. Or Phil Lester. And he certainly doesn’t like hugs with Phil Lester.





	No Hugs

**Author's Note:**

> this is so fluffy I'm crafting  
> hope you guys enjoy :)

 

Dan Howell hated physical contact. Hugs, especially. He hated the feeling of pressing his chest against another human’s chest awkwardly in some weird display of affection. Having arms wrapped around him made him feel like he was being trapped, the arms feeling like a hungry python engulfing his body in a deadly choke. The whole concept and practice of physical contact just seemed so uncomfortable to Dan. Why would anyone willingly put themselves through the awkwardness of human touch when they could just, not?

 

The few hugs Dan had had the displeasure of enduring throughout his life were all painfully unpleasant. The first was with his dad- he was twelve and it had ended in a lot of awkward back patting. The second was with his Aunty who had unwittingly pressed her rapidly sagging chest against his, making him shiver in terror. The last and possibly worst was with his friend Chris who’d practically forced him into it after Dan had come out to him. Was it a huge, momentous occasion not only for Dan, but for their friendship as well? Sure. Did it warrant a hug? Certainly not. 

 

“Hi Dan! I made cupcakes with my little sister over the weekend- this one’s chocolate flavoured, I heard you liked chocolate? Anyway, here you go.” 

 

And there was the other thing Dan hated: Phil Lester. Phil lester was the sweetest, most positive and most adorable person Dan had ever met. It was disgusting.Phil was always going out of his way to make his day better, leaving cute little notes in Dan’s locker, pencil case- anywhere he could access really. If that wasn’t bad enough, he always made conversation with Dan, asking him how his day was with such genuine interest that Dan couldn't do anything but answer. It was so manipulative of Phil. 

 

Dan turned around in his chair, accidentally looking straight into his classmate’s baby blue eyes. They were so stupidly bright, twinkly and full of life. Seriously, the boy was just asking to be hated!    
  
Dan bashfully took the cupcake out of Phil’s outstretched hand. It was only the polite thing to do, and Dan loved chocolate which helped. He took a small bite.  _ It was delicious.  _ The rich chocolatey taste melted in his mouth and he licked his lips. 

 

“Thanks. It’s good.” He said, making sure not to show any emotion in his tone. He couldn’t let Phil get any ideas.

 

Phil’s mouth turned up in a lopsided grin, his eyes twinkling even more now if that was possible.

 

“Thank you! I’m really glad you liked it, I have more in my locker if you want to come get them at lunch? And I can tell you about my newest Pokemon game while we’re there!” Phil was looking at Dan with the softest, most hopeful expression that he’d ever seen. 

 

“Okay.” 

_ Fuck. _ The answer had tumbled out of Dan’s mouth before he’d even had the chance to think about it. He didn’t want to hang out with stupid, lame Phil Lester at lunch! Seriously, the guy was such a nerd, with his Pokemon obsession and his little hipster glasses and his amazing baking skills. Ugh, and Dan couldn’t retract his agreement because then that giddy look on Phil’s face would be gone, replaced with one of disappointment and rejection. As much as he hated Phil, it would just be cruel to say no now,

 

“Great! See you then.” Phil beamed before going back to doodling dumb Pokemon in his workbook. Seriously, who even liked Goldeens? They were the lamest Pokemon out! 

 

Lunchtime was not going to be fun.   
  


 

-

 

Dan was in the cafeteria, sitting next to  his best friend Chris. Both boys were unashamedly licking the remaining bits of cupcake from the empty wrappers. 

  
Chris moaned in delight.

 

“These are fucking delicious, Lester’s an amazing baker.” Chris said, throwing his soggy wrapper into the bin.

 

“I know! He’s so stupidly good at everything. He’s such a try hard, it hurts.” Dan grumbled, taking another cupcake out of the container and shoving it in his mouth. 

 

“Yeah. It’s just too bad that you have the biggest crush known to man on him.” Chris had walked back from the bin now, and was standing at the head of the table with his arms folded. 

 

Dan spat the contents of his mouth ungracefully onto the table in front on him. He coughed a few times, the crumbs stuck in his throat. 

 

“I’m sorry, what?” He asked, voice croaky. 

 

Chris rolled his eyes. 

 

“What are you acting surprised for? You’ve had the biggest crush on Lester since he moved here and we both know it.” 

 

“No I don’t! I hate that guy!” Dan was blushing furiously now, how could his own best friend accuse him of something so gross? 

 

“Alright. And that’s why he’s all you’ve been talking about the past few months, why you’re eating his cupcakes and why you invited him to sit with us at lunchtime.” Chris smirked, clearly quite pleased with his arguments.

  
  


Dan shot Chris a look that was supposed to make him flinch, but only served to make the boy even more amused at his friend’s obvious denial. 

 

“Shut up! I only invited him to sit with us because I felt bad after he gave me all those cupcakes, and he said he wanted to tell me about his new Pokemon game.” Dan scoffed. “It was a pity invite.” 

 

“Okay. If you say so.” Chris grabbed a napkin and began cleaning the crumbs Dan had spat out onto the table.    
  
Dan breathed a sigh of relief. For once Chris had given up and Dan could be left in peace. Was this real life? 

 

“Do you think a purple tux would suit me? I want to stand out at the Dan and Phil wedding.” Chris mused casually. 

 

Dan screwed his face up, his hands balling into fists. What kind of best friend was Chris? He opened his mouth to retort, but was interrupted when a certain black-haired boy returned to the table.

 

“Hey I’m back!” Phil slid casually next to Dan on the seat, his eyes lighting up when he saw that all of the cupcakes were gone. 

 

“So you guys liked my cupcakes, I see?” Phil nudged Dan in the side playfully, making his insides tingle with what was most definitely hatred.

 

Dan nodded softly in acknowledgement, a smile spreading across his face that he tried to fight back. Seeing Phil happy didn’t make him happy. Not at all. 

 

“Aw thank you!” Phil smiled back at Dan before opening his arms wide. “I think a congratulatory hug is in order, don’t you think? That was a lot of cupcakes but you tackled them all!” 

 

Dan recoiled, shifting back along the bench away from Phil. A hug? And from Phil Lester of all people? No thanks. 

 

Phil’s face fell immediately, and Dan’s heart clenched. Phil retracted his arms back to his sides awkwardly, looking at Dan like he’d just told him Santa wasn’t real. 

 

“He doesn’t like hugs. Weird, I know right?” Chris explained, shaking his head. 

 

“O-oh, sorry- I didn’t realise...” Phil replied, all red in the face now. 

 

“Um, it’s okay. Not a big deal.” Dan slowly scooted back to his original place on the seat, feeling  guilty all of a sudden. It’s not like he should feel bad, he had nothing to be sorry for. It didn’t matter that Phil looked like a sad little puppy when his hug had been rejected. Dan didn’t care. 

 

He just didn’t like hugs, and Phil Lester would be no exception.

 

-

It had been a few weeks since the ‘no hug’ incident (as Dan liked to call it) and Phil had become even more annoying somehow. 

 

He was hanging out with Dan and Chris more, sitting with them every single lunchtime- didn’t he have any other friends? He also always felt the need to sit as close to Dan as possible, whether it was in five of the six classes they shared together, or at lunchtime when he would snuggle up to Dan on the long seats, when there was clearly enough room for him not to. Dan couldn’t complain though, he couldn’t hurt Phil’s feelings like that. It would just be too mean and awkward to tell him to stop, so he was stuck with the boy. 

 

The worst part of it all, by far were the looks Phil always gave him. Always gazing at Dan softly with his stupid sparkly blue eyes, when Dan wasn’t looking and even when he was. He’d called Phil out on it a few times, and all the silly boy had done in response was blush and stutter out a lame excuse. Who did he think he was, acting like a little ray of sunshine that made Dan’s meaningless existence actually somewhat bearable?

 

“Oi, loverboy, you going to Homecoming?” Dan felt his side being nudged by Chris. It was lunchtime and Dan and Chris were sitting in their usual spot, Phil actually absent for once, having told Dan he had some homework to catch up on. It was kind of quiet without him. 

 

“I don’t think so. I’ve got no one to go with and I don’t plan on third-wheeling you and Tess the whole night.” Dan sighed. He actually wanted to go. 

 

“Oh, what? I thought you were going with Lester.” Chris had the teasing smirk on his face that appeared every time Phil was brought into conversation.

 

“No! We’re not like that.” He defended, crossing his arms. 

 

“Then care to explain the lovey-dovey glances you guys always give each other, or the fact that he basically cuddles up to you every lunchtime or maybe, I don’t know, why you never seem to stop talking about him?” 

 

Dan narrowed his eyes. 

 

“Seriously Chris, you need to stop. I’m getting annoyed now.” Dan loved his friend, but right now he was irritating him to no end.    
  
Chris had other ideas, however. He looked Dan right in the eyes, grinning wickedly before chanting, 

 

“Danny has a crush, Danny has a crush, Danny has a crush, DANNY HAS A CRUSH!” 

  
  


Dan was more frustrated than he’d ever been in his life, why couldn’t Chris just drop this? Didn’t he make it clear that he hated Phil, complaining about him as often as possible? Anger was bubbling up inside of him, hot and red and the next words that came out of his mouth would come to be ones he would regret. 

 

“I DO NOT LIKE PHIL LESTER, I HATE HIM! Seriously, you need to shut up about this already!” 

 

He saw Chris open his mouth to reply, before his eyes widened and he pointed behind Dan. 

 

He turned around.

 

_ Oh shit.  _

 

The one and only Phil Lester was standing there, bouquet of roses in his hand and a crushed look on his face. Dan had felt bad enough seeing Phil’s hurt expression when he’d rejected his hug all those weeks ago, but now- Phil looked devastated. 

 

The boy’s bright blue eyes were wet, the pain he was feeling evident. Before Dan could do anything to rectify the situation, Phil was running off, the roses dropped to the floor. 

 

_ Double shit.  _

 

Dan’s stomach dropped, the weight of what had just happened hitting him. 

 

He knelt down and picked up the bouquet of roses, feeling a stab in his chest when he saw the note attached. 

 

_ Homecoming? :D _

 

-

Dan had fucked up. He’d really fucked up now. Oh god, he didn’t hate Phil, not even a little bit. Dan had thought the reason he couldn’t stop thinking about Phil was become he hated him so much, but it really was the opposite. Chris was right, he did like him. A lot. But now he’d hurt Phil, and he wasn’t sure how to fix it. 

 

Phil was going to ask him to homecoming! It would have been amazing. Dan could imagine it now; Phil coming to his house to pick him up, looking beautiful in a suit that would match Dan’s. Dan’s mum would be overly excited, of course, taking dozens of pictures of the two together before sending them off into a limousine she would have insisted on renting. And finally, when the last slow song was being played, Phil would pull Dan onto the dancefloor and they’d sway in sync to the music, their foreheads pressed together as they looked into each other’s eyes.

 

Dan’s chest felt heavy. He couldn’t give up on that dream. Phil was the kindest and most understanding person he knew, he might forgive Dan if he gave a good enough explanation.    
  
But how was he going to do it? He needed to do something big, something that Phil wouldn’t be able to say no to…

 

Dan looked around his bedroom, eyes scanning over various objects before landing on the red bouquet of roses Phil had dropped earlier. Dan smiled. He knew how to fix this. 

 

-

 

Dan paced nervously around Phil’s front yard, straightening up his suit jacket. This better work. After a few more minutes of stressing out, Dan forced himself to walk to the front door. 

 

He rang the doorbell. 

 

He heard the soft padding of feet for a few seconds before the door opened, revealing a tired-looking Phil. He straightened himself up when he saw it was Dan on the other side of the door, looking apprehensive. 

 

“What are you doing here?” The beautiful blue eyes Dan loved so much were not sparkling, now looking dull and hopeless. 

 

“I came here to apologise, if you’ll let me. I have something prepared.” 

 

Dan stepped aside, allowing Phil to see what was in the front yard. A table with a red checkered cloth was in the middle of his garden. On top was a tray with ten chocolate cupcakes, each with one letter from the word ‘Homecoming’ iced on. Surrounding the baked goods was a circle of carefully sprinkled rose petals, hand picked from Dan’s mother’s garden. 

 

“What’s this, Dan?” Phil’s eyes were filled with a soft wonder akin to that of a child’s. He was outside now, standing in front of the table. 

 

“This is an apology. And an invitation, if you’ll accept it.” Dan cleared his throat nervously. “ “I like you, Phil. I’m sorry I ever said anything else. I was an idiot to deny the fact that I’ve liked you ever since I met you.” 

 

Phil looked utterly shocked now, and dare he say, a little giddy? The brightness had returned to his eyes, giving Dan the confidence to continue. 

 

Dan picked up the bouquet of roses- now a little wilted- that Phil had given him the day before. He handed them to Phil, their hands brushing together causing both boys to turn pink. 

 

Within two seconds a huge smile had overtaken Phil’s face, meaning he’d read Dan’s reply on the note attached- ‘ _ yes :D’.  _

 

_ “ _ Will you go to homecoming with me?” Dan asked, more than anything wanting Phil to say yes. 

 

Phil looked up from the note and into Dan’s eyes, causing him to swoon a little. This was it. Dan braced himself for the answer that would either make or break him. 

 

“Yes! Of course I’ll go with you, dummy. I like you too in case that wasn’t painfully obvious. And I forgive you, I’m just glad you didn’t mean it.” 

 

Phil was opening his arms, leaning forward to encircle Dan with them before he quickly stopped himself. He shuffled on his feet awkwardly. 

 

“Sorry! I forgot you didn’t like hugs! Celebratory handshake instead?” Phil smiled apologetically, his expression soft and innocent. 

 

Dan didn’t know why he felt really disappointed when Phil pulled away. He hated hugs, didn’t he? But Phil’s face looked so cute and small, and he just looked so warm… 

 

“Well… maybe we can hug. Just this once.” Dan found himself saying.

 

Almost instantly, Phil threw his arms around him, surrounding him in warmth and the smell of cinnamon. Dan squeezed back hesitantly, finding that the hug wasn’t entirely unpleasant. It didn’t feel too awkward, or forced and soon Dan found himself melting into the embrace. He felt safe and secure in Phl’s arms, and his heart was flipping over in his chest excitedly. 

 

Maybe hugs weren’t so bad, at least not with Phil. 

  
  
  



End file.
